Today is the last Sunday of the liturgical
year. On this day the Church celebrates the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
King of the Universe. In a sense, this celebration sums up the whole liturgical
year: Christ the King is the Son of God who became man and was conceived of the
Virgin Mary, was born in Bethlehem of Judea, was baptized by John at the
Jordan, announced the kingdom of God, “went about doing good and healing all
those oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38), suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died and was buried, on the third day rose again from the dead and
finally ascended into heaven. In the gospel of Luke, we read a parable, where
Jesus says that “a nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the
kingship for himself and then to return” (Lk 19:12). Jesus was speaking of
himself: with his ascension, he left for a far country to receive the title of
king; some day he will come back “in his glory, and all the angels with him, he
will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before
him.” It is the scene that today’s gospel presents to us: that Jesus, who once came
as savior, at the end of time will come back as king and judge.
What we have just heard is not a parable, but a
prophetic description of the final judgment that will accompany the second coming
of Christ—the parousia. This vision closes the “eschatological
discourse” of Jesus and, with it, his public ministry; in the following
chapter, the narrative of the passion will start. So, we could consider this
passage as the conclusion and summary of Matthew’s gospel: we find in it the
main points we encountered through the gospel. Jesus, who introduces himself as
the “Son of Man,” to depict the final judgment, compares himself to a shepherd
who separates the sheep from the goats: “He will separate them one from another” (separabit eos ab invicem). The final judgment is the moment for separation. If you remember, we had
already found this point in the parable of weeds among the wheat and in the
parable of the net thrown into the sea. In those parables we were told that it
is not now the time to separate the weeds from the wheat, good from bad fish;
but at the end of the age that separation will be done. It is exactly what
Jesus says now using the image of sheep and goats.
How will this separation be done? What is the
criterion to distinguish between the sheep and the goats, the righteous and the
wicked? The standard of judgment consists in the works of mercy. As Saint John
of the Cross says, “At the evening of life, we will be judged on our love.” At
that time, faith will not be enough; we will have to show our deeds. Even in
this case, if you remember, we had already found the same teaching in some of
the latest parables. In the parable of the wedding feast, some of the guests
were expelled from the banquet because devoid of the wedding garment; in the
parable of the ten virgins, the foolish ones were excluded because without oil
to furnish their lamps. In those cases, we said that both the wedding garment
and the oil supply were a symbol of the good works that should always accompany
faith. “Faith of itself—Saint James says—if it does not have works, is dead”
(Jas 2:17). And on the last day we will be precisely judged on works.
To whom should we show mercy? To the “little
ones,” to those whom Jesus calls “these least brothers of mine.” Who are they?
Keep in mind that this judgement is intended for all the nations. So, the
little ones are, first of all, the disciples of Jesus. In his “missionary
discourse” Jesus had said, “Whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will
surely not lose his reward” (Mt 10:42). But we can see in these little ones
anybody. Let us not forget the parable of the good Samaritan: it is not
important to know who is our neighbor, but to make ourselves neighbor of
others. Is it necessary, while ministering to others, to see Jesus in them? No,
because Jesus is present in them, whether we know it or not. “Whatever you did for
one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”
Q
